Dr. Reamlove, or How I Learned to Not be Afraid of Reaming

[lightxmyfire]

Title edited for capitalization. Rule 9. -jpm

This was my first time reaming my own bowl, and I like many others read all the "this is scary what do I do?!" posts which also came with an even mix of "just do it, it's fine!" and "holy crap are you crazy?! you'll destroy your pipe forever, don't do it!!" or the middle road "do it, but be REALLY careful or it will never be right again!" responses.

I finally got up the gusto and ordered a Neerup Pipe knife and Sr.Reamer and went for it in my BST bent pot, a pipe that I love dearly and smoke often which had a fairly thick, crumbly, and flaking cake. I know, I know I should have practiced on that old corn cob before possibly ruining my beloved BST but.....

.... I can confirm it was EASY, AND I didn't destroy anything as far as I can tell. The pipe is smoking wonderfully, better than before the ream and I'm no longer afraid to do this on my own! I got some after pictures which I'll post below, I forgot to take before pictures, maybe it was the nerves?

You can see a bit of wood poking out at the top of the bowl in one photo, but it's got a nice even almost back to the wood bowl with just a bit of carbon at the bottom (that stuff wouldn't budge).









All this to say, I hope this dispels some of the fear around reaming and encourages those like me who were scared to take the plunge! I will be reaming my own pipes from now on! With these two tools btw which were inexpensive and great!

Cheers all and happy smokes!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

This was my first time reaming my own bowl, and I like many others read all the "this is scary what do I do?!" posts which also came with an even mix of "just do it, it's fine!" and "holy crap are you crazy?! you'll destroy your pipe forever, don't do it!!" or the middle road "do it, but be REALLY careful or it will never be right again!" responses.

I finally got up the gusto and ordered a Neerup Pipe knife and Sr.Reamer and went for it in my BST bent pot, a pipe that I love dearly and smoke often which had a fairly thick, crumbly, and flaking cake. I know, I know I should have practiced on that old corn cob before possibly ruining my beloved BST but.....

.... I can confirm it was EASY, AND I didn't destroy anything as far as I can tell. The pipe is smoking wonderfully, better than before the ream and I'm no longer afraid to do this on my own! I got some after pictures which I'll post below, I forgot to take before pictures, maybe it was the nerves?

You can see a bit of wood poking out at the top of the bowl in one photo, but it's got a nice even almost back to the wood bowl with just a bit of carbon at the bottom (that stuff wouldn't budge).

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All this to say, I hope this dispels some of the fear around reaming and encourages those like me who were scared to take the plunge! I will be reaming my own pipes from now on! With these two tools btw which were inexpensive and great!

Cheers all and happy smokes!

Good for you giving it a go. I've never understood the scary part. Reaming is easy and low risk as long as you're patient, take a little at a time and don't over do it.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

You'll never be a good eBay Estate pipe seller until you can rough hack a chamber to within an eighth of an inch of its life.

Good job you done there by the looks of it. Never tried it myself.

 

[mso489]

I think your trepidations helped you get it right. I think the problem is, reaming is sort of fun, and a good reamer does remove cake, maybe a little too well, and it is hard to stop at the briar if you don't know what you're doing. Like a devoted minority on Forums, I don't build cake, so I don't ream, but just wipe out the chamber after each smoke with an abrasive paper towel, maintaining a thin carbon layer and the diameter of the chamber, and minimizing ghosting. It's worked for me for decades, and the pipes look and smoke well.

 

[sablebrush52]

Reaming is easy to do when needed. I have a variety, Pipnet, a set of Swedish made stainless, and a couple of Buttners for conical chambers. Castlefords are poorly made garbage.

You can significantly reduce the need to ream by wiping out the chamber and cleaning the airway after every bowl. plus yo'll build a hard superior quality carbon coating.

 

[warren]

Yup! Look around, people less capable than you and, more capable than you, have reamed their pipes for years.

 

[Jaylotw]

Reaming is like anything else that has to be done with a mind for caution. You've just got to check your progress frequently so you don't over do it, and it looks like you did a fine job.

I'm usually much too lazy to wipe out my pipes or flush them after a smoke, it's usually just a cleaner through and that's that, so I get some cake buildup.

I've used a sharpened screwdriver and a Dremel with a mini sanding drum to get a pipe back in smoking shape, and the results were beautiful, just to show you that it's really not an intimidating thing once you know when to stop removing cake.

 

[sablebrush52]

Yup! Look around, people less capable than you and, more capable than you, have reamed their pipes for years.

A LOT of them VERY BADLY. It's not difficult to do, doesn't take a high degree of skill, just a little care, which some people lack.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I think people would benefit by reaming small amounts more often and not letting the cake build up to where it's a major endeavor. Using the water flush cleaning approach has significantly decreased the amount of reaming I need to do. I just touch my pipes up occasionally, it's really a non event.

 

[kcghost]

I got a set that is sold in pipe stores around the country. They have four bladed heads with a socket insert. All I have to do is be sure to keep it vertical.

 

[Jaylotw]

I think people would benefit by reaming small amounts more often and not letting the cake build up to where it's a major endeavor. Using the water flush cleaning approach has significantly decreased the amount of reaming I need to do. I just touch my pipes up occasionally, it's really a non event.

This right here. Except some, like myself, are much too lazy to walk to the sink after a smoke.

 

[telescopes]

In all seriousness, people who over ream their pipes likely over ream their partners. Neither a pipe or a partner will find the experience beneficial. I am confident there is a correlation related to certain personality types.

 

[BROBS]

I think people would benefit by reaming small amounts more often and not letting the cake build up to where it's a major endeavor. Using the water flush cleaning approach has significantly decreased the amount of reaming I need to do. I just touch my pipes up occasionally, it's really a non event.

I just use a pipe knife periodically to knock off the loose bits of uneven tobacco and ash that form on the walls. Basically eliminating the need for future reaming. I’ve found a paper towel doesn’t always remove these.

 

[Andriko]

Looks good. Never tried it myself, and my pipes seem stubbornly resistent to any cake anyway, I think it's because I tend to scrape them with a tool after each smoke to keep it at bay.

 

[anotherbob]

Title edited for capitalization. Rule 9. -jpm

This was my first time reaming my own bowl, and I like many others read all the "this is scary what do I do?!" posts which also came with an even mix of "just do it, it's fine!" and "holy crap are you crazy?! you'll destroy your pipe forever, don't do it!!" or the middle road "do it, but be REALLY careful or it will never be right again!" responses.

I finally got up the gusto and ordered a Neerup Pipe knife and Sr.Reamer and went for it in my BST bent pot, a pipe that I love dearly and smoke often which had a fairly thick, crumbly, and flaking cake. I know, I know I should have practiced on that old corn cob before possibly ruining my beloved BST but.....

.... I can confirm it was EASY, AND I didn't destroy anything as far as I can tell. The pipe is smoking wonderfully, better than before the ream and I'm no longer afraid to do this on my own! I got some after pictures which I'll post below, I forgot to take before pictures, maybe it was the nerves?

You can see a bit of wood poking out at the top of the bowl in one photo, but it's got a nice even almost back to the wood bowl with just a bit of carbon at the bottom (that stuff wouldn't budge).

View attachment 124088

View attachment 124089

View attachment 124090

View attachment 124091

All this to say, I hope this dispels some of the fear around reaming and encourages those like me who were scared to take the plunge! I will be reaming my own pipes from now on! With these two tools btw which were inexpensive and great!

Cheers all and happy smokes!

yeah reaming is easy. The first time I did it I was like how do people mess this up. And my only advice is don't rush it and it will be fine.

 

[craig61a]

I rarely ream my pipes.

I use a pipe reamer proper when I come across an old estate pipe that has copious amounts of cake in the chamber.

I have seen pipes that have had the chambers run out of round, wavy walls due to reaming.

On occasion when the cake gets uneven, or develops an orange peel texture, I sand it smooth.

I wipe the bowl after each smoke to remove ash. That’s about it.

 

[karam]

That’s how my pipes look prereaming I usually ream while flushing the chamber at the same time, down to wood. Find that there is resistant cake that needs to be softened before the reamer will catch. First smoke from a freshly reamed, flushed and dried pipe is caviar.

edit: love the thread’s title!

 

[keith929]

I own two different reamers (different bowl shapes). I tend to be conservative when it comes to reaming. The cake has to be (to my eye) more than the accepted standard 'a dime". Yet it depends on the pipe, I have a few that don't reach that sweet spot until the cake is built up enough well pass that"dime". Cake build up on the walls of any pipe is a good thing. In the early stages I usually wipe out the bowl with a paper towel. At some point the bowl will either smoke cool and dry or not. Well any what that's just IMHO.

 

[J-Evverrett]

Good for you. It is easy though, once you get the hang of it. I just use a small keychain swiss Army knife blade nowadays and it works great. You have to try and be as conservative as possible in how much to remove. Better to go back for another pass than to hammer it.

 

[leonardbill1]

Good light so that I can see what I'm doing is always key.